NPR Special Report: How Safe is the Food Supply?
Antibiotics on the Farm, Allergies and Home Cooking Dangers

August 2001 -- Everyone eats. That makes the safety of the food supply everyone's concern - and the proliferation of food-borne illness a major public health problem.

Every year in the United States, 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses are reported, contaminated foods send an estimated 325,000 people to the hospital -- and 5,000 of those people die.

Full Coverage on NPR • Antibiotics on the farm -- the dangers, and how one nation is trying to kick its drug habit • Food allergies -- how processed foods conceal potentially dangerous ingredients • Home kitchen risks -- learn safe food handling techniques to reduce exposure to harm Food Safety In-Depth • Recent NPR coverage of food safety issues • Use and abuse of antibiotics • Food allergies -- what to avoid, how to shop

In this age of health inspections and anti-bacterial soaps, it seems the state of food safety should be getting better. But in fact, say some researchers, it's getting worse.

It is not just the widely known bacteria E. coli and Salmonella that make people sick: The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 250 different diseases are carried by food.

The issue also reaches beyond food poisoning to food allergies, which are blamed for as many as 30,000 emergency room visits and 150-200 deaths each year.

In a four-part series on All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition Saturday, NPR examines some of the issues surrounding food safety.

How do farming practices affect the food supply? For decades, U.S. livestock have been fed antibiotics every day in their feed, because researchers discovered the daily doses can actually make animals grow faster. But public health officials believe this practice is responsible for a dangerous chain reaction: Farm animals are fed antibiotics, bacteria become resistant to those antibiotics, humans eat the animals -- and the antibiotic-resistant bacteria are transmitted to humans.

Now, the Food and Drug Administration wants to ban certain types of antibiotics on the farm -- but farmers and pharmaceutical companies are fighting the proposal. They say there's no proof that antibiotics on the farm lead to resistant bacteria in humans; and, they argue, eliminating antibiotics would have a dramatic impact on U.S. food production.

On All Things Considered Aug. 15 and 16, NPR's Daniel Zwerdling explores this controversial issue as he visits farms both in the United States -- where animals are fed a daily dose of antibiotics -- and in Denmark, where the farming industry has kicked the drug habit.

Even foods free from illness-causing bacteria can still make people sick. On Morning Edition Aug. 17, NPR's Allison Aubrey takes a look at food allergies. In this era of highly-processed foods, there are countless cases where common allergens -- such as tree nuts, eggs and wheat -- inadvertently slip into the food supply. For most consumers, the hidden ingredients pose no risk. But for those with severe allergies, even trace amounts of the substances can prove deadly.

When it comes to getting food poisoning, research suggests Americans may be most at risk in their own kitchens. On Weekend Edition Saturday Aug. 18, NPR's Joe Palca takes to the kitchen (with chicken in hand) to address safe handling and storage of food at home.

Web Resources:

Gateway to government food safety resources with information from multiple agencies

Food safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control

U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety information and education

Food borne illness site from the USDA